Tag Archives: The Human Randomizer

Slept well last night for a change, got up at 5:10am. Pushed the button on the coffee maker which I was smart enough to set up last night. Then I meditated.

Fixed my first cup of coffee…I’ve really gotten the recipe down for this stuff lately! Maybe my Cardinal cup is helping!

Reading e-mails. Someone who I’ve known for years wants to be Friends on Facebook…OK! Log-in to Facebook to confirm. She has the nerve to post a photo of herself looking really good in an orange polka dot mini skirt (from back when that was the style!) I hate her for it, but her smile has Not changed over all the years I’ve known her and that makes up for it. Great lady and I’m glad to be FB friends with her now!

I read the Many (!!!) comments on BCDC that came from joining in the “It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?” meme. (That word still vaguely gives me the creeps, but I’m working to get past that. ) These bookish folks Love to comment and that makes me happy. I’ve been commenting back as well, so I think we’re stuck with each other!

Trying to plan out my day to make the most of it. I need to: Start on the sorting and packing again, errands, watch another episode of Firefly, (so glad that my niece Carrie lent it to me!) Do laundry, Change the sheets on the bed. Figure out if what I did on-line yesterday really registered me for the class I want to take. Figure out my new camera. Exercise. Read…

Holy Cow!! Someone needs to write a post on BCDC and I’m the only one around here who can do it!

Realize I have no idea what I’d like to talk about so I ramble and realize I am playing a part I haven’t played in a while…The Human Randomizer.

Time to focus on some of those things mentioned earlier. Finish my coffee and get on the exercise bike…Yes…that always does it for me. It’s become such a natural part of my day that I feel better as soon as I get on the decrepit old thing. I jokingly say I’m doing penance when I’m riding. Actually, it’s just another excuse to Read!

No Photos!! Oh, well…Hit publish. Turn off the laptop. Get on that bike and Ride! (oh…Read, too… 😉 )

Yesterday, I talked about my train of thought and I think I am running on my very own track at the moment. I think I will be until we get ourselves packed and on our way for the trip. One week from today we pick up our rental car. Our plan is to leave the next day. With any luck we will. Any of you who know Ralph will understand my lack of commitment in that statement. I plan on doing my best to have us organized and ready. Really…I’m doing my best. At the moment, my best involves not nagging. Nagging doesn’t work with Ralph…it makes things worse. Ok…I’m trying to lead by example…we’ll see how THAT works!

I need to start off by saying that I must be feeling the stress because last night I found myself snacking on things I didn’t need when I wasn’t even hungry. The good thing is I realized I wasn’t really hungry and they were only Triscuits which are sort of good for me…Fiber…Yum…I stopped myself pretty quickly. I do need to go back and figure the points. Not a clue how my Weight Watchers weigh in will turn out this week. I’ve been in control and tracking my food, but…stress can do this to me.

I lamented yesterday that I thought I was walking 2 miles but my pedometer said less. My friend Cathy who is a runner told me that I should trust the fact that I’d tracked it with my car first. She said that pedometers are meant to track steps and aren’t great to track distance. She’s an expert so I’m back to 2 miles!! I felt much better after she said that! 🙂

I actually have been working on my packing. Yesterday, my book bag graduated from a tote bag to a small rolling suitcase. I thought the suitcase could serve two purposes. Books and some breakable household things I wanted to take along. They fit nice and snuggly in there and will be safe. Also gave me more room for books, and reduced one bag. I realize I’m taking more books than I need, but I’ve been reading A LOT and since I’ve also stopped reading some I didn’t like, I needed back ups. Now I just need to decide what I’ll do with the ones I find on the trip. Oh, yeah, the household things are staying there… I’m good… 😉 I’m really thinking I need that Nook!

I also started packing my actual suitcase. Well, I guess I can loosely use the word “pack.” The suitcase is in the laundry room in the basement. I’m sorting through clothes (because so often my clothes end up clean and stacked down there…I’m a slug…I know…) They’re not really in there as packed yet, but I’m sorting so that I know what I want to take. I’ll pack them neatly when I get the suitcase upstairs. That may not make any sense to anyone else, but it’s working for me!

I need to start working on some ideas for snacks and meals for the road. We’re trying to do this trip on a budget, cutting corners where we can so I need to think of some things to take to eat. I’m leaning toward peanut butter and jelly sandwiches which we can make at our rest stops. I also used hummus when I drove to Florida with Gail in January. That would work for me, but not for Ralph. We’ll see what I come up with. I have some good ideas for snacks too. I’ve got to get some things at the grocery store. We’ll see how this all works. Of course I can’t forget the Twizzlers…always the Twizzlers…they’re our traditional road trip snack. Dollar Tree…here I come!

Lots more to do today. I have a plan and I have LISTS!! But for now it’s almost time to hit the pavement for my walk. It sounds like it’s raining, but when I look out I don’t see anything. I hope the weather holds…I’d hate to miss my walk…

Maybe it’s the heat. I shouldn’t be able to blame the heat because I haven’t been out in it that much. I’m lucky that our air conditioning is functioning well and keeping us comfortable.

Even though I’m out walking in the moring, I’ve been doing it early which gets me out before the real heat comes. I’m sticking with it. I have to make a confession and in truth this was an honest mistake. Quite a few years ago, I had marked out a route for walking. It’s great…starts out level, then goes through several uphill areas…good for cardio. I did the route with my car to track the distance. I was certain it was 2 miles. Maybe the odometer on that car wasn’t working properly. I’ve been saying proudly 2 miles! I just realized yesterday that my pedometer can also tell me the miles I walk. According to my pedometer, when I got home yesterday I had walked 1.26 miles. 😦 That is Not 2 miles. I don’t usually look at the pedo while I’m walking…guess I’ll have to today to see if I can pump that up. Hey, but I’m walking right!

I got an important “pack for the trip” project completed yesterday. I had a set of dishes stored at Ele’s house that I want to take for the house in New Mexico. I got it all packed up and in a duffle bag. It’ll travel safely in the car that way. Just have to prepare for the question from Ralph…”WHAT have you got in there?!?!” I know it’s coming.

Here’s where my train of thought goes off track. I’m reading a book called Art in America by Ron McLarty.

It has lots of quirky characters and the story is moving along quickly. I like that. I read McLarty’s The Memory of Running a few years ago and I liked that very much. But for those of you who don’t know him, Ron McLarty is a character actor of some reknown. If you saw him you’d probably say…”Oh, yeah…That guy!” It started me thinking about something that I loved in which he participated, now over 20 years ago. “Cop Rock.”

This was a series by Steven Boccho who created Hill Street Blues, L. A. Law, and later NYPD Blue and my personal favorite, Murder One. But back then when I heard that Cop Rock was coming on I remember saying to myself…it’s a Steven Boccho show AND there’s singing! How can it miss?!

Well by a lot of peoples standards, it was a Big miss. I, however loved it! I was sorry when it was cancelled. I remember a few years after it went off the air, VH1 showed the entire series in one day. Back when VH1 still showed music videos and seeing a TV series aired there was unusual. But there was the singing…It was perfect. I taped the entire thing.

So back to thinking about Ron McLarty, I started thinking about whether Cop Rock was available on DVD now. I started searching on Google. No. Not just No, but NO! And apparently there are a lot of people waiting Very impatiently for it to be released! I have something Very Valuable hiding Somewhere in the boxes of my video collection in my basement. That alone should get me digging through things. Besides, I’d really like to watch it again. Seems like I’m one of the few people who Could watch it. I guess that’s kind of exciting.

Except, I have to pack for our trip…So however exciting it is to know I have something that a lot of people want…I need to get this train back on the track…Go figure out just how much 2 miles is…and get packing!!

Is it possible to be random and focused at the same time? I’m focused on staying on track for Weight Watchers, but this post is a bit random. Ok, that works for me!

Yesterday I went off to get my hair cut early. Turned out very nicely. Short which will do well in the heat. After a quick detour to the post office I came home and never went out again. I heard reports that the temperature was hovering around 100. That was too much hovering for me. Crazy Ralph still went outside to smoke his cigars. Never have gotten the smoking thing, but it’s too hot to get on my soap box!

Planned on doing a few things around the house. Put in a load of laundry and I was in the bedroom going through some things when I hear a weird sound from the kitchen. I come out and the little drain thingy in the middle of the sink is dancing up and down. I realize what the problem is. The washer has gone into the spin cycle and the water is pumping…but it’s not going anywhere.

I rush to the basement…water is pouring out of the line under the toilet and above the washer. Of course I turn it off right away. I knew what it was. This is a Very old house…hence old pipes. Periodically (obviously not recently enough) we’ve had to have the pipe from the sewer line outside that comes into the house snaked. We’ve been told before that “things” get into it and it eventually clogs.

Sooo….today we get a visit from the plumber man and luckily he said he’d be here between 8 and 9 am. It won’t be too hot for him and it will be out-of-the-way. I’m just hoping this is the problem and nothing more, otherwise someone is going to have to adopt us if there’s a lot of repair required.

Oh yes, and there’s the small issue of the load of laundry that’s been sitting in the water in the washer since yesterday because I couldn’t restart the washer. Yuck. Wish us luck!

With all the frustration I was able to stay on track at least. Didn’t take time for breakfast before I left for the hairdresser and as it got hotter, even though I was in the air conditioning, I just didn’t feel like eating. I finally ate some veggie burgers (which went unphotographed) around 5:30pm. Then popcorn later while watching The Big Bang Theory. I’m proud of myself for staying in control, but not eating all day like that can sometimes backfire and you don’t lose. Regardless, I was at least in control and I was happy for that.

I talked a month or so ago about getting back into writing poetry. I thought of something great while riding in the car the other day. Of course I forgot to write it down when I stopped driving and it immediately went out of my head. That frustrates me so much. I can’t even say that it’s because I’m getting older. When it comes to poetry, I always had the problem if I didn’t write it right away, I’d forget it. Sounds a little bit like Weight Watchers…;-) Maybe if I sit and think for a while it will come back to me…put that on your Fat Chance List!

Mom and Gram always used to say if you talk about something too much you’ll jinx it (?!?!?!?) Not quite sure how it works, but anyway…I’m feeling better today! That’s all I have to say other than that I have my fingers crossed.

This post will still have some residual randomness so please don’t be frightened away.

The house is a MESS!!! Well it has been for quite some time, but you know the old saying about how it gets worse before it gets better?! Well, it’s true. Ralph has been working really hard at going through boxes and stuff. But of course in order to do that…the resulting extra Mess. I’m not complaining. I need to start making my own Mess to get together some things for the yard sale. I hate doing them, but I really need to. So that’s the story there.

Monday morning had a little treat involved…

I had a one day only coupon for a small iced coffee from Dunkin’ Donuts. Regardless of how I felt, I couldn’t pass it up. It made me happy and also feel a little better at the time. Those are my new jeans! I haven’t mentioned them. I have a hard time finding jeans I like. I hate low-rise jeans and waist-high jeans are so hard to find anymore. At K-Mart, I found a happy solution. They’re not “quite” waist-high, but they’re very comfortable. They were on sale for $16.99 a few weeks ago so I splurged and bought 2 pairs. Last week we went back and they were still on sale! Bought another pair because I decided they’re Not a splurge, they’re very practical and they’ll last me for years! I should mark the date and see just how long they last… 😉

In my efforts to keep both Ralph and Me on track with our eating (he’s done a great job and on his own has lost about 15 pounds…I’m so proud of him!) I needed to replenish his favorite salad dressing.

Had to make a special trip to Shoprite because I tried 2 other places and couldn’t find it. Well it was worth the trip. It was on sale for $1.40 OFF the regular price! Of course I got 2! In fact, I’m thinking I should go back and buy 2 more to have a reserve. He’ll be eating a Lot of salads this summer and I know he’ll use it up!

So Monday was a pretty good day. I got some reading done also…still working on this…

I truly am becoming The Human Randomizer these days. I’m finding it hard to focus on one thing and stick to it. I know I’ve bemoaned this fact before. What I can’t figure out is why I can’t correct the situation. That’s something I need to work on…as always…

Sunday started with breakfast for two…Egg sandwiches.

Mine topped with sriracha sauce…very good. I had more eggs for lunch, the last of the egg salad I’d made earlier in the week. I was feeling kind of icky all day and dinner turned out to be veggie burgers for me. By the end of the day I’d eaten 4 of these sandwich thins!! Good thing I found a cheaper source! Breakfast was the only one I photographed though. I’m sure I got my protein in today, anyway!!

My sister, Ele wanted to make a trip to Target which sounded good to me. She tempted me by saying we could do Starbucks (yes, there’s one inside the Target!) but my stomach was still not feeling great so I declined. On our way out though I realized there was something I needed to photograph…

For those of you who don’t know, it’s a croquet mallet and ball. I had to take this for my friend Valerie, in Kansas City. Valerie is my friend from college and is the only person I have ever known who played and plays croquet. It was so cool, I couldn’t resist it! It was a little tricky due to the door opening sensor. I had to wait for other people to get out of the way, then I couldn’t get to close or the doors would open. Then it wouldn’t make any sense. OH!! I just realized there’s a widget there too!! Even better! Hope you like it, Val!!

To finish up today, I’m going to share something that I think is very beautiful. These are photos of lavender growing in Ele’s back yard.

The color is not as vibrant as it was in person.

Can you see the bee in there doing bee things? This was so beautiful and smelled so good. After this we smelled the rosemary plant in the front yard, but that wasn’t as pretty!! 😉

This probably couldn’t be more random if I tried. That’s the kind of day it is today. Now I get to pay bills!! Always a thrill. Wish this stomach thing would Go Away!! Need to make some mint tea…that’ll do the trick!

Yes, it’s me again, the Human Randomizer. For those of you who didn’t hear this before, in short, I was amused when various bloggers were using a “randomizer” to select the winners of giveaways. As best I understand it, it’s a little electronic thingie that picks a number and tells you who is the winner. Well, I’ve decided that sometimes, I’m the Human Randomizer and ALL of you are winners…I guess you each have to decide if you’re a winner or not! 😉

I love the fact that I got so many comments about the pepper and egg sandwich I showed as part of What I Ate Wednesday.

If it looks delicious to you, trust me…it IS delicious. It brings back such memories to me and my sister, Ele. When we were kids, Mom and Dad would take us to Wildwood in the summer…duh of course in the Summer…no fun for kids there in the Winter! Mom’s take along sandwich of choice was homemade pepper and egg sandwiches. I think she would put American cheese on them but I’m sure they would be on white bread and wrapped in aluminum foil. By the time we got to eat them they were soggy and drippy and just wonderful. That’s why I love these sandwiches so much and order them when ever I can. Glad so many of you agree that they look yummy! It’s like eating a piece of my childhood!

I’ve been working hard to stay on track with Weight Watchers this week. I think I’m doing pretty well.

An apple with almond butter while I was finishing up Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. I enjoyed this. I mentioned earlier in the week that my friend Kristen is getting me into Young Adult fiction. This didn’t grab me the same way The Hunger Games did, but I certainly want to continue with the story and find out where the writer takes us. I like it when I find something like this that grabs my attention. I liked it better than I’m making it sound!

Since finishing this, I’ve started two books, both of which I just had to stop, couldn’t do it. One was an all time classic that I read years ago, probably in high school, but I just couldn’t do it. The other was a memoir and was in a word-whiny. If I want to hear whining I can just listen to the voices in my head! 😉

I’ve just started Pigs In Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver.

I enjoyed her Animal Dreams and disliked The Poisonwood Bible, had to stop part way through it. I’m hoping this will be more like Animal Dreams. Regardless, 49 cents at Goodwill…good investment or bad? We’ll see~

Return of veggies and the Big Purple Bowl! After a trip to the produce market, I’m stocked up, but I’ve been eating so many, I may need to make another trip there over the weekend!

Homemade dressing…I really need to start writing the dressings down so I know what I’m putting in them! Spinach, romaine, red pepper, celery (need my crunch!) tomato and shredded cheese. Also “small red beans” cooked in the crock pot. My first time making these and I like them! They’re not like kidney beans, which I don’t like.

Yummy, indeed!

Lunch was some home-made egg salad on a sandwich thin!

With lots of celery, not much reduced calorie mayo and lots of ground black pepper. This is so good, I’m always happy when I remember to make this. It’s great because it’s something that both Ralph and I can eat. On the subject of sandwich things. The ones that I get at Walmart are $2.68 and only count for 2 Points on WW. I just found them at Aldi for $1.99. They count for 3 Points, but for that big a saving, I can work within my Points!

One more salad…looks a Little different from the first one… 😉

Same basic salad, but in natural light!! Funny how although the ingredients are basically the same, they taste different. I’ll never figure it out. Maybe that’s why I never tire of them. Maybe it’s all in my head…or my stomach!!

Regardless, it’s time for me to get less Random and more Specific. So I’d better get out of here in order to accomplish that!

Happy Thursday!! It’s Trash Day!! Let’s get rid of some of this STUFF!!